Lilli Ann label placement

No Accounting For Taste

No Accounting For Taste

VFG Member
Hello! Label question here. I've seen a lot of 40s/50s Lilli Ann jackets with labels. You know, with the larger, almost square-ish label with the zig zag border, and they say "an original from Lilli Ann of san francisco"? Well, I have only seen these placed in the upper inside neck area. I've never seen one placed sideways in the jacket flap or anywhere else. My question is, does one sometimes see a real Lilli Ann jacket with the label in a placement other than the most common, top center? Does a placement other than that indicate that it might be fake?

Thanks for any input.
 
Welcome to the forums noaccountingfortaste.

I've only seen a few Lilli Anns in person but find that - as with other fashion houses - the label placement varies depending on era. '40s and '50s ones will often have them along the side length. It's the '60s, '70s and '80s ones that are more likely to be at the back of the neck. I should add that there are plenty of misdated Lilli Anns online, with many '60s ones especially being dated earlier. Oh, and I just found an '80s jacket on etsy listed as '40s. I'm sure that happens a lot too. Mind you, the more recent ones have different labels, so as you know the label you describe shouldn't be found on a more modern garment.

Someone who has more experience of Lilli Anns in particular will have more information soon.
 
hm, well i've had a fair number of lilli anns over the years, and in searching my photo files to double check, my experience has been that the older pieces have their labels at the interior back of the neck - 40s, 50s, and early 60s.

if you're concerned about authenticity, that is, that a label doesn't really belong to a piece, look closely at the stitching that tacks the label in. usually they're tacked on the four corners, as well as a few tacking stitches on the sides. i had one from the early 60s that was (again on the interior back neck) stitched only on the short sides of the rectangle.
 
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by the way, are we talking about a jacket or a coat? coats are more likely to have labels sewn into the interior of the placket, where jackets more often have them at the back interior neck.
 
I have had coats with the label on the right front facing. And I have a vague memory of label on the jacket facing, but I can't swear to that. I would go more by the stitching of the label and the quality and style of the garment. Fortunately, there are a ton of images of Lilli Anns on the internet, so you may be able to find documentation that way, too.
 
Thanks so much for the insight - you're right, I should have been more clear, I meant a suit jacket and not a coat (sorry!). The reason I'm asking is because I have 1950s knockoff suit by Jovon Fashions. Lilli Ann sued Jovon in 1956 for directly copying its designs and for marketing them as Lilli Ann copies, but I had never seen a Lilli Ann version of my suit in person or in advertising so I didn't know if mine was a direct rip off or not. Anyway, a jacket recently came up on eBay that is *exactly* the same as the one I have. At first I was thrilled because I thought if I win the auction, I could compare the original with the copy (nerd alert). But then I noticed that the label I describe above is placed on the inside of the jacket flap, and a store label is placed top center instead. I've never seen this placement before, and I noticed that the Jovon label in the jacket I have is sewn in the same place as the Lilli Ann label in this eBay jacket. Unfortunately, since it's online, I can't really make any detailed observations about the quality or the label stitching unless I buy it (which I'm willing to do in the interest of science as long as no one outbids me).

Now, I'm not suggesting this seller is up to anything intentionally nefarious, but I do wonder if somewhere along the line this Lilli Ann label was placed here either innocently or with intent to deceive, or if this is the real deal and the store simply preferred to have their label front and center instead, something I've never seen before with Lilli Ann, either in person or online. Either way, I'm fairly certain that this isn't a factory placement, but I'd be happy to see evidence to the contrary.

I'm attaching a photo of the Jovon label as well - it's placed on the inside right lower jacket flap. Feel free to use it for the label resource if it's useful.

Thank you!
Jessica
 

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I do find the label placement and stitching on the Lilli Ann jacket you are referring to odd. I'm not saying the seller is trying to deceive, just that the Lilli Ann label has definitely been sewn incorrectly on that jacket. It could be that the store whose label is at the back of the neck moved the Lilli Ann label when they added their own, but I would expect more professional stitching than what you see there. That being said, the styling of that jacket definitely looks like Lilli Ann.

Here's what's interesting. The Jovan label you posted also appears to have been moved. I have never seen a label inside a jacket front facing sewn on horizontally. They are always placed vertically along the edge where the lining meets the facing so as to be more discreet (an exception would be with a coat where the facings are much deeper.) The way yours is sewn, it would show when the wearer unbuttoned the jacket. I'm not saying your jacket is not a Jovan, just that the label appears to have been moved and resewn. Can we see a picture of your jacket? I'll bet it is stunning!
 
That IS interesting! I hadn't thought about the placement of the Jovan label also being weird, but the mystery deepens. Here's a photo of my jacket - you can see that it looks absolutely identical to the one in the auction. Whether or not it feels or is constructed exactly the same, I would love to find out. And I agree that the styling looks classic Lilli Ann, but that's what makes the lawsuit fact so interesting - if this company was directly copying designs and marketing them as copies, and didn't deny this fact (which they didn't), then the Jovan jacket would indeed appear to be styled the same. The fabric quality feels similar to other Lilli Ann suits I own, as does the construction (but I'm certainly not an expert in construction). The center button is kind of losing its face though.

Anyway, an interesting little mystery. Thanks for the info!
 

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(I just noticed that the recovery board tag is in a different location on my jacket vs the one for sale - on my other suits and ones I've seen online, this tag is in a more hidden seam, like it is in the auction. My Jovan jacket has it sewn right there by the tag.)
 
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